Portable grain conveyer



July 1, 1952 H. BQBROWSKI PORTABLE GRAIN CONVEYER Filed Sept. 29. 1949 //2 veafor: Henry Bobro Patented July 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlce Henry Bobrowski, Morris, Manitoba, Canada 7 Application September 29, 1949, Serial No. 118,651

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in portable grain conveyors, the object of my invention being to provide a device of the character herewithin described wherein the grain elevator is mounted upon a wheeled chassis which includes a source of'power for the elevator thereby making the unit self-contained and easily transportable from one location to another by conventional towing means.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described wherein the height and angle of inclination of the elevator may readily be adjusted thereby making the unit adaptable for use under a variety of conditions.

A still further object of my invention i conjunction with the foregoing objects is o Provide a device of the character herewithin described wherein the auger elevator may be lowered substantially parallel with the chassis thereby facilitating towing of the unit without the possibility of the auger elevator striking overhead obstructions.

A yet further object of my invention is to provide a device-of the character herewithin described which includes means whereby the engine platform is preserved in a substantially horizontal position irrespective of the inclination of the conveyor.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is economical to manufacture, simple in construction, and otherwise well suited for the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as'will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, myinvention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device shown in the partially elevated position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of my device taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

V Fi 3 is a perspective fragmentary view substantially reversed with respect to Fig. l, of an alternative construction of the engine platform. In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

In the science of agriculture considerable movement of grain is necessary either.- from storage bin to trucks or from groundlevel'to ele- 2 vated storage bins. Due to the widely dispersed storage points on present-day farms together with the different operating levels required, the need has long been felt for a self-contained auger elevator which can be transported readily to the desired location by car, truck or manually and which can then be adjusted to the correct operational level and can be operated without an external source of power being required.

Consequently, I have designed the grain transferring unit hereinafter to be described which is mounted upon a two-wheeled chassis which-also contains a source of power for the auger and which furthermore can readily be raised or lowered in relation to the ground thereby ad-' justing the outlet to the required height.

Proceeding therefore to describe my invention in detail it will be seen upon reference to the accompanying drawings that the auger elevator or conveyor collectively designated l is mounted upon a two-wheeled undercarriage 2 by means of the extending and retracting toggle action collectively designated 3. The undercarriage 2 comprises the axle beam 4, constructed of channel iron, on the ends of which are mounted the ground wheels 5 in line abreast supported by suitable bearings 6. A source of power for the auger elevator l in the form of a relatively small gasoline motor (not illustrated) is mounted upon engine platform 1 ofistanding from the axle beam 4. The toggle action :3 comprises a pair of jack -knifing arms, the long one of which I call the draft arm 8 which is pivotally supported between the lugs 9, extends forwardly from the axle beam 4, being stabilized by a pair of diagonal angle iron members I 0 which converge forwardly from lugs l2 at the extremities of the axle beam to be rigidly connected to the draft arm sub stantially towards the distal end or joint H thereof. The upper arm I3 of the toggle action is pivotally connected to the distal end H of the draft arm 8 and extends upwardly to the pivoting attachment point [4 on the underside of the conveyor l as will hereinafter be described. n A pair of rear supportingmembers l5 and I5, which I designate as a boom, are rigidly attached to the rear of the axle beam 4 and extend -upwardly and rearwardly, terminating in the ring bearings I6 within which the shaft I1 is mounted. The shaft I1 is supportedin suitable bearings contained within a bevel gear box l8 secured to the upper surface of the conveyor tube l9 and transmits the drive from the power unit as will hereinafter be described.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the rear portion'of the conveyor is supported by the boom I5 via the shaft I1 and that the ring bearings I6 permit the conveyor to pivot around this shaft in the raising and lowering of the elevator in relation to the chassis.

A longitudinally extending channel member 20 is secured to the underside of the conveyor tube II! to which is pivotally attached the upper end of the arm I3 of the toggle action by means of the pin I4 engaged within the fork end I4 attached to the arm. This pin provides support to the forward or upper portion of the conveyor and reference to Fig. 1 illustrates the parallelogram formation of the supporting framework comprised of the toggle action 3, the boom. I5. and the portion of the channel 20 between the pivot pin.

l4 and the shaft II. The position of this parallelogram and consequently the angle of inclinae tion of the conveyor is controlled by means of a cable 2| secured to the channel member 20 and extending downwardly and forwardly to the policy 22 located adjacent to the joint II of the toggle action 3. The cable passes around the pulley and is connected to the winch 23 anchored to the channel member 20 rearwardly of the pivot pin I4.

The drive; to the auger or fiighting 24, mounted within the conveyor. tube I 9, is supplied from the source of power (not illustrated) mounted upon the: engine platform I. A conventional V belt (not illustrated) conveys the power to the conveyor: drive wheel 25' mounted upon shaft H; the bevel gear box I8 transferring the power to the line shaft 26 supported by bearing 2! attached to the upper side'of conveyor I9. A conventional pair of meshed spur gears are contained.- within the casing 28 upon the upper end 2-9 of the conveyon, one gear being connected to the line shaft 28 and the other to the upper end of auger 24.

In operation, the winch 23 is actuated in order to:- shorten the length of the cable 2| which has the effect of elevating the pivot point I4 in relation to the ground. This causes the upper portion of the conveyor to be'raised to the desired position.

In; this connection is should be noted that the pivot pin M- can be engaged within one of a series of apertures 30 situated along the channel member 20 thus permitting variation of the range of movements of the elevator.

In order to lower the conveyor the movement of the; winch 23 is reversed thus lengthening the cable 2i. The weight of the conveyor jackknives the action 3 thus lowering the conveyor as required. In this connection I have provided a stop. 3! situated upon the boom I5 against which the underside of the panel 26 will bear when the conveyor is in the fully-lowered position. This is to prevent the conveyor from coming into interference with the source of power and to takethe strain off the cable 2 I- when being towed.

With the conveyor in the lowered position the unit may be transported from one location to another by means of the towing ring- 32 attached to the outboard bearing 33 of the auger. The height of this ring above the ground when in the towing position is such that the unit may be towed either by a car or tractor as desired.

The. efhcient operation of the gasoline motor (not illustrated) depends to a large extent upon the-horizontality of the float chamber thereof. It will be appreciated that when the conveyor I is raised or lowered, the motor platform. I will incline due to its attachment to the toggle action 3. In order to maintain the, motor platform I 4 in a substantially horizontal position irrespective of the inclination of the conveyor I, I have pivoted the platform I at the end 34 thereof to the axle beam 4. In this embodiment, the end 34 of the platform I is suspended between a pair of upstanding lugs 35 by means of a pin 36 passing therethrough and secured to the upper surface of the platform.

In Fig. 1, the opposite end 37 of platform I is supported by 'r'ne'ans of ani'upwardly projecting,

multi-apertured'bracket-'38 securedto the underside of the platform, the arm 39 of the bracket being attached to the boom I5 by means of a bolt or the like extending through any selected one of the apertures 40.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the end 34, of the platform is freely connected to the axle beam 4, the opposite end being adjusted' thereby levelling the platform I after the auger I has been inclined to the desired position.

Fig. 3 of the accompanying: drawings shows an alternative arrangement of theineans provided for preserving the substantiallyinvariant horizontality of the platform I which includes the free pivotal connection of the end- 34 to the axle beam 4 as hereinbefore described. A slide bar 40 is hinged to the opposite end 3! of the platform by means of the hinge M, the slide barbeing angulated as illustrated to pass betweenthe members I5 and I5 substantially parallel with the longitudinal side ofthe platform I.

The distal end 22 of the slide bar is slidably engaged within a swivelling; slide block 43 which in cludes a sleeve 44- surrounding the slide bar 40', the sleeve being swivellably supported within a pillow block 45 which in turn is attachedto the aforementioned draft arm 8 of the toggle action 3. r

The aforementioned slide bar Mlis also pivotally connected to a shaft $3 carried withinthe pillow blocks 41 upon the members-I5 and I5, a bracket 58 extending downwardly from the slide bar so to this shaft. This pivotal support is located between the aforementioned hinge securement of the slide bar tov the end 31 of the platform I and the aforementioned swivelling slide block 43-; s

In operation, the jack-lrnifing of the toggle action 3 automatically actuates the aforementioned slide bar 43' and hinge 4|, thereby maintaining the platform 1 substantially horizontal assisted by the pivotal connection of the opposite end 34-t0 the axle beam 4. v 1

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same. made within the spirit and scope, of the claim without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

A grain transferring unit comprising in combination an elongatedconveyor and undercarriage therefor, saidundercarriage comprising a pair of wheels i line abreast, an axlebeam therebetween, and aconveyor elevating and tilting assembly, said elevating and tilting assembly embodying a toggle action connecte at one end thereof to said beam, and at the other to said conveyor, and a supporting boom, extending between said beam and said conveyor, means for actuating said toggle to vary the inclination of said conveyor, a motor platform, and means for. preserving the substantially invariant horizontal:

ity thereof irrespective of the inclination of said conveyor, said platform being freely connected at one end thereof to said axle beam, a slide-bar hingedly secured at the opposite end of said platform, a swivelling slide-block on said toggle action in which said bar is slidably receivable, said bar being pivotally connected to said boom between the points of hinged securement aforesaid and said slide-block.

HENRY BOBROWSKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in'the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Blank Feb. 29, 1944 Mulkey et a1 Aug. 10, 1948 Tintes Feb. 1, 1949 Newell Dec. 6, 1949 Slocum Nov. '7, 1950 

